TWENTY 


CUBA 


A  DESCRIPTION 
OF  CUBA  AS  A  MIS- 
SION  FIELD  AFTER 
TWENTY  YEARS 
OF  EVANGELICAL 
ENDEAVOR. 


l.A 


mtf.  - 


I  ^{/  CHARLES  S.  DETWEILEB 


CONTENTS 


I.  Historical  Background .  5 

II.  Economic  Background  .  9 

III.  Social  Background  .  12 

IV.  Educational  Background  .  16 


V.  Beginning  and  Development  of  Missionary  Work  18 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/twentyyearsincubOOdetw 


Twenty  Years 

in 

Cuba 


A  Description  of  Cuba  As  a 
Mission  Field  After  Twenty  Years  of 
Evangelical  Endeavor 


By 

Charles  S.  Detweiler 


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Preface 

This  pamphlet  has  been  prepared  as  a  companion  to  two  al¬ 
ready  issued  on  two  other  mission  fields  in  the  West  Indies, 
one  on  Porto  Rico  by  Arthur  James,  published  by  the  Pres¬ 
byterian  Board  of  Home  Missions,  and  one  on  Santo  Domingo  and 
Haiti  by  Samuel  Guy  Inman,  published  by  the  Committee  on  Co¬ 
operation  in  Latin  America,  It  is  hoped  that  the  three  pamphlets 
together  may  afford  help  to  those  who  are  interested  in  the  study  of 
missions  in  these  oldest  parts  of  the  New  World. 

The  West  Indies  are  rapidly  regaining  the  commercial  importance 
they  held  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  but  which  they 
lost  in  the  nineteenth  through  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  beet  sugar  industry  in  Central  Europe.  The  departure 
of  Spain  from  Porto  Rico  and  Cuba  was  followed  by  an  inrush  of 
American  capital  and  a  period  of  business  prosperity  never  dreamed 
of  under  the  old  regime.  About  the  same  time  Jamaica  was  being 
developed  by  the  United  Fruit  Company,  until  it  produced  approxi¬ 
mately  one-third  of  the  total  world  output  of  bananas.  Then  with 
the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  the  Caribbean  Sea  became  once 
more  what  it  was  in  the  sixteenth  century,  a  great  traffic  center  of 
the  world’s  commerce. 

At  the  same  time  the  steady  growth  of  the  political  influence  of 
the  United  States  in  this  region  has  made  it  a  real  home  mission  field, 
a  new  frontier.  First  came  the  acquisition  of  Porto  Rico  and  the 
protectorate  over  Cuba.  Then  followed  in  rapid  succession  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  the  Virgin  Islands  from  Denmark,  and  the  assumption  of  a 
protectorate  over  Santo  Domingo  and  Haiti. 

The  financial  dependence  of  these  republics  upon  the  United 
States  affords  our  country  a  leverage  which  with  tactful  use  can 
effect  much  good.  It  is  in  this  way  that  General  Crowder  has  accom¬ 
plished  a  vast  deal  in  Cuba  in  helping  that  republic  suppress  graft, 
and  in  insisting  upon  the  selection  and  retention  in  cabinet  positions 
of  men  of  high  honor  and  ability.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  steady 
growth  of  American  political  influence  in  the  Caribbean  may  not 
mean  an  open  door  for  the  exploitation  of  its  material  resources 

3 


and  cheap  labor  by  our  great  corporations,  but  that  it  may  rather 
mean  the  extension  of  American  and  Christian  ideals  of  education, 
sanitation  and  justice  for  all  who  are  oppressed. 

On  this  account  every  effort  should  be  made  to  promote  among 
American  Christians  a  more  thorough  appreciation  of  our  missionary 
responsibility  in  the  West  Indies.  Cuba  ought  not  to  be  exploited 
simply  as  a  winter  resort  for  anti-prohibitionists  and  racetrack  de¬ 
votees.  The  fact  that  it  is  popular  with  these  types  of  Americans, 
and  that  it  is  used  as  a  base  for  smuggling  aliens  as  well  as  liquor 
into  the  United  States,  makes  it  the  more  incumbent  upon  the 
Christian  elements  of  our  country  to  strengthen  the  evan¬ 
gelical  forces  that  are  the  better  representatives  of  American  life, 
and  which  are  really  helping  Cuba.  In  the  hope  of  promoting  this 
good  work,  this  pamphlet  is  issued.  The  author  gratefully  acknowl¬ 
edges  the  collaboration  of  the  Rev.  Sylvester  Jones  in  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  the  last  chapter.  Mr.  Jones  was  for  many  years  a  successful 
missionary  of  the  Friends  in  Cuba,  and  is  at  present  engaged  in  inter¬ 
denominational  work  on  the  island  in  promoting  the  Daily  Vacation 
Bible  School,  the  circulation  of  Christian  literature,  and  the  cause 
of  temperance. 


4 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 

I.  Historical  Background 

The  island  of  Cuba  was  discovered  and  claimed  for  Spain  by 
Columbus  on  his  first  voyage  of  exploration,  on  October  28, 
1492.  As  a  Spanish  colony  it  dates  from  1511,  when  the  first 
governor  was  appointed,  and  there  began  the  subjection  of  the  war¬ 
like  Indian  inhabitants.  Cuba  was  important  to  the  early  Spaniards 
as  a  base  of  supply  for  numerous  expeditions  to  the  mainland,  the 
most  important  being  that  of  Cortez,  the  conqueror  of  Mexico. 
Later  on  Havana  became  the  rendezvous  of  the  galleons  that  con¬ 
veyed  the  treasures  of  Mexico  and  Peru  to  Spain. 

In  1762  Havana  was  conquered  by  the  English  under  Lord  Alber- 
marle  after  a  seige  of  two  months.  In  the  following  year  it  was 
restored  to  the  Spanish  authorities,  and  remained  under  their  rule 
until  the  Spanish-American  war  in  1898. 

The  last  Spanish  governor  surrendered  his  authority  on  the  first 
day  of  January,  1899.  This  transfer  marked  the  end  of  Spain’s 
empire  in  the  New  World  and  meant  the  loss  of  her  richest  and 
most  prized  colony.  Her  own  stupid  colonial  policy,  excusable  in 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  but  without  justification  when 
carried  down  into  the  nineteenth  century,  was  the  cause  of  her 
humiliation.  In  that  policy  she  violated  the  fundamental  principles 
of  government,  which  other  nations  had  learned  much  earlier  in  their 
colonial  enterprises.  Spain  assumed  that  the  subject  existed  solely 
for  the  benefit  of  the  sovereign.  In  all  her  colonies  she  sought  only 
her  own  financial  advantage.  Because  of  her  severe  restrictions  of 
trade  to  Spanish  ports  and  Spanish  vessels,  the  first  three  centuries 
of  Spanish  rule  in  America  was  a  period  of  stagnation.  Early  in 
the  nineteenth  century  this  monopoly  was  given  up  but  in  exchange 
high  tariff  walls  were  erected  that  wrought  the  same  result.  Not 
only  was  the  colony  expected  to  produce  large  returns  through  taxes 
both  direct  and  indirect  to  the  mother  country,  but  all  of  the  lucra¬ 
tive  positions  were  reserved  for  Spaniards.  Cubans  were  not  es¬ 
teemed  worthy  of  public  office. 

During  the  early  years  of  United  States  history  and  especially 
after  the  acquisition  of  Florida,  the  importance  of  Cuba  for  the 
protection  of  our  territory  from  foreign  invasion  was  clearly  seen. 
At  different  times  uneasiness  was  manifested  at  Washington  lest 
France  or  Great  Britain  should  acquire  this  island  so  near  to  our 
doors,  and  the  government  of  Spain  received  assurance  from  Wash- 


5 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


ington  that  the  American  government  would  look  with  disfavor  and 
alarm  upon  the  transfer  of  her  sovereignty  over  the  island  to  any 
other  nation.  In  the  decade  preceding  the  Civil  War  there  arose  a 
very  strong  desire,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  statesmen  of  the 
South,  for  the  acquisition  of  Cuba  in  order  to  increase  slave-holding 
territory.  All  during  the  administration  of  President  Pierce  efforts 
were  made  to  acquire  it  by  purchase  from  Spain  but  without  meeting 
any  encouragement  at  Madrid.  The  Cuban  question  figured  con¬ 
spicuously  in  the  campaign  of  1856,  the  platform  of  the  Democratic 
party  containing  a  strong  declaration  in  favor  of  its  acquisition. 
The  Civil  War  and  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States 
brought  to  an  end  all  this  agitation  and  thereafter  our  policy  was 
mainly  concerned  with  urging  upon  the  Spanish  government  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  Cuba  and  the  establishment  of  a  more  liberal 
form  of  government  through  independence  or  autonomy. 

The  heroic  period  of  struggle  for  Cuban  independence  began  in 
1868  with  an  uprising  in  Yara  under  the  leadership  of  Carlos  Manuel 
Cespedes.  Then  began  the  Ten  Years’  War,  which  lasted  until  1878. 
The  great  leader  of  this  war  was  Maximo  Gomez,  a  leader  who  was 
to  continue  the  heroic  struggle  until  final  victory  was  assured.  A 
republican  government  was  established,  whose  capital  was  in  the  field 
most  of  the  time.  The  movement  finally  failed  in  1878  and  a  treaty 
of  peace  was  concluded  between  the  insurgents  and  Spain,  under 
which  some  of  the  former  went  into  exile  and  Spain  promised  politi¬ 
cal  reforms. 

These  political  reforms  were  never  realized  to  any  great  extent 
and  the  Cubans  continued  in  more  or  less  dissatisfaction,  plotting 
within  and  without  the  country  another  uprising.  The  last  move¬ 
ment,  which  through  American  intervention  led  to  final  victory,  was 
initiated  early  in  1896.  Jose  Marti,  dreamer,  poet,  idealist,  had 
visited  Maximo  Gomez  in  his  retirement  in  Santo  Domingo  and  on 
behalf  of  the  Cuban  revolutionary  society  had  offered  him  the  com¬ 
mand  of  the  insurgent  army  that  was  to  spring  up  spontaneously 
when  the  standard  of  revolt  should  be  raised.  Gomez  accepted  the 
command  and  soon  landed  on  the  coast  of  eastern  Cuba  to  begin 
his  campaign,  accompanied  by  Marti,  recognized  as  the  president  of 
the  revolutionary  party.  The  latter  was  not  by  nature  nor  by  train¬ 
ing  a  military  leader  and  early  in  the  campaign  lost  his  life  in  a 
combat  with  the  Spanish  troops.  Spain  was  prompt  in  sending  mili¬ 
tary  reenforcements  to  the  island,  and  she  had  need  of  all  of  them,  for 
the  new  movement  was  not  confined  to  the  eastern  end  of  the  island 
as  in  the  war  of  ’68  to  ’78.  Gomez,  ably  seconded  by  Antonio  Maceo, 
carried  the  war  to  the  very  gates  of  Havana  and  kindled  the  fire 


6 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


of  insurrection  all  over  the  island.  At  one  time  the  city  of  Havana 
was  almost  in  a  panic  for  fear  the  revolutionists  would  attack  it. 
They  came  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  city  and  destroyed  railroads  and 
sugar  mills  on  all  sides  of  it.  A  demand  being  made  in  Spain  for 
more  vigorous  measures  against  the  revolution  General  Weyler  was 
appointed  as  a  new  Captain  General  in  place  of  General  Campos. 
The  new  arrival  soon  earned  the  title  of  “Butcher”  by  his  ruthless 
measures,  one  of  which  was  called  “the  policy  of  reconcentration.” 
The  Cubans  were  called  to  come  into  certain  centers  appointed  by 
the  Spaniards  and  were  promised  amnesty  if  they  presented  them¬ 
selves  and  sought  pardon.  The  country  people  were  then  shut  up  in 
prison  camps.  Often  they  were  herded  in  settlements  enclosed 
within  stockades  or  trenches.  When  they  were  permitted  to  wander 
in  the  nearby  towns  the  bounds  were  still  set  for  them  by  military 
lines.  No  attempt  was  made  to  feed  them  as  is  expected  of  all 
governments  that  hold  prisoners.  They  were  left  to  live  on  the 
charity  of  the  community  in  which  they  were  herded.  Most  of  them 
were  noncombatants,  women  and  children,  and  thousands  died.  Re¬ 
ports  of  this  inhumanity  increased  the  popular  sympathy  in  the 
United  States  that  was  already  awakened  by  the  insurgents  because 
they  were  struggling  for  liberty. 

The  events  leading  up  to  the  Spanish-American  War  are  too 
well  known  to  require  detailing  here.  On  April  19,  1898,  war  was 
declared,  and  ended  that  same  year  with  the  triumph  of  American 
arms  and  the  complete  withdrawal  of  Spain  from  her  American 
possessions. 

The  task  that  awaited  the  American  Army  of  Occupation  baffles 
description.  Cuba  had  been  converted  by  the  long  years  of  war 
into  a  hospital  and  a  poor  farm.  Hundreds  of  children  wandered 
homeless  and  unclothed,  living  as  they  could  almost  like  wild  ani¬ 
mals.  A  state  of  desolation,  starvation  and  anarchy  prevailed  almost 
everyhere..  At  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution  Cuba  had  some  three 
million  head  of  cattle,  many  of  which  were  oxen  upon  which  the 
Cuban  planter  depends  for  his  agricultural  work.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  it  was  estimated  that  fully  ninety  per  cent  of  these  cattle 
had  been  destroyed  without  replacement.  In  1894  there  were  more 
than  350  mills  for  the  grinding  of  sugar  cane  and  the  making  of  raw 
sugar.  Few  of  these  escaped  injury  during  the  war  and  about  half  of 
them  were  totally  destroyed.  Sanitation  had  been  neglected  and  yel¬ 
low  fever,  frequently  epidemic,  seemed  more  threatening  because  of 
the  general  conditions  of  filth.  Under  American  military  adminis¬ 
tration  order  was  rapidly  restored,  the  customs  service  was  organized 
and  a  just  system  of  taxation  instituted.  An  American  army  surgeon 


7 


Twet^ty  Years  in  Cuba 


engaged  in  the  sanitation  of  the  island  presented  certain  studies  to 
the  governor,  General  Wood,  who  fortunately  had  had  medical 
training  and  knew  how  to  appreciate  the  findings  of  this  physician. 
Public  funds  were  set  apart  for  further  investigation,  which  resulted 
in  proving  that  a  certain  species  of  mosquito  was  the  carrier  of 
yellow  fever.  The  result  was  that  measures  were  taken  which  have 
delivered  Cuba  forever  from  the  menace  of  this  dread  disease.  The 
public  school  system  was  organized  and  schools  to  the  number  of 
over  three  thousand  were  established  where  under  the  Spanish  regime 
there  had  been  only  nine  hundred.  Public  works  of  importance  were 
undertaken,  such  as  the  roads  and  bridges,  and  finally  when  the  end  of 
intervention  came  in  May,  1902,  the  new  Cuban  government  under 
President  Estrada  Palma  had  turned  over  to  it  a  handsome  balance 
of  public  funds.  In  the  face  of  world-wide  skepticism  the  pledge 
made  by  the  United  States  when  it  declared  war  on  Spain  was 
faithfully  carried  out.  “The  United  States  hereby  disclaims  any 
disposition  or  intention  to  exercise  sovereignty,  jurisdiction,  or  con¬ 
trol  over  said  island  except  for  the  pacification  thereof,  and  asserts 
its  determination  when  that  is  accomplished  to  leave  the  government 
and  control  of  the  island  to  its  people.” 

In  August,  1906,  President  Palma  was  re-elected  for  a  second 
term,  but  the  Cuban  people  had  not  learned  sufficiently  well  the  art 
of  self-government  and  insurrection  at  once  began  to  be  planned  by 
his  defeated  opponents.  President  Roosevelt  endeavored  to  com¬ 
pose  the  difficulties  between  the  two  Cuban  parties  but  was  unsuc¬ 
cessful.  Finally  President  Palma  resigned,  and  it  being  impossible 
to  assemble  a  quorum  of  the  Cuban  Congress  to  undertake  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  of  government,  the  American  government  once  more 
intervened  and  governed  the  island  until  1909.  General  Gomez,  the 
regularly  elected  president,  then  assumed  control  and  after  his  four 
year  period  General  Menocal  was  elected.  General  Menocal  was 
president  for  eight  years.  At  the  time  of  his  re-election  (1917) 
there  was  an  outbreak  in  eastern  Cuba.  -  The  Liberal  party  felt  that 
they  were  about  to  be  cheated  out  of  an  election  and  appealed  to  arms. 
At  first  they  were  quite  successful  and  gained  possession  of  Santiago 
and  the  control  of  the  railroad  in  eastern  Cuba,  but  the  revolution 
was  finally  suppressed  and  General  Menocal  finished  his  second  term 
in  peace.  Dr.  Alfredo  Zayas  was  elected  his  successor  and  found 
an  empty  treasury  and  a  heavy  public  debt.  It  is  commonly  believed 
that  the  greater  part  of  this  debt  is  due  to  graft  in  all  branches 
of  the  government.  If  the  success  of  self-government  and  free 
institutions  has  ever  been  endangered  in  Cuba  it  is  undoubtedly  due 
to  widespread  political  corruption.  A  third  intervention  by  the 


8 


Twenty  Yb:ars  in  Cuba 


United  States  has  been  freely  predicted,  but  fortunately  the  predic¬ 
tion  has  not  been  realized. 

At  the  close  of  the  Spanish-American  War  the  United  States 
showed  that  it  had  no  intention  of  withdrawing  from  Cuba  until 
the  people  of  Cuba  should  recognize  that  in  the  field  of  international 
relations  the  two  nations  were  henceforth  to  stand  together.  A  pro¬ 
vision  known  as  the  Platt  Amendment  was  inserted  in  the  army 
appropriation  bill  of  March  2,  1901,  directing  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  leave  the  control  of  the  island  to  its  people  so  soon 
as  a  government  should  be  established  under  a  constitution  which 
defined  the  future  relations  with  the  United  States  as  follows: 

1.  Cuba  to  make  no  treaty  with  any  foreign  power  which  would 
tend  to  impair  the  independence  of  Cuba,  nor  to  permit  any  foreign 
power  to  obtain  any  control  over  any  part  of  the  island. 

2.  Cuba  not  to  contract  any  public  debt  beyond  the  resources 
of  the  nation  to  provide  for  it  out  of  the  ordinary  revenues. 

3.  The  United  States  tO'  have  the  right  to  intervene  for  the 
preservation  of  Cuban  independence  and  the  maintenance  of  a  gov¬ 
ernment  adequate  for  the  protection  of  life,  property,  and  individual 
liberty. 

This  is  the  substance  of  the  famous  Platt  Amendment,  which  was 
adopted  as  an  appendix  to  the  Cuban  Constitution. 

The  right  of  the  United  States  to  intervene  has  been  exercised 
in  a  military  way  only  once  after  the  inauguration  of  the  republic, 
but  in  a  diplomatic  way  our  government  has  been  continually  inter¬ 
vening.  By  wise  counsel  and  by  representations  given  personally 
to  the  President  and  his  cabinet,  the  United  States  has  endeavored 
to  help  Cuba  to  correct  its  mistakes  and  to  overcome  its  weaknesses 
as  it  develops  self-government.  At  the  time  of  this  writing  (Novem¬ 
ber,  1922)  General  Enoch  Crowder  has  been  for  more  than  a  year 
in  Havana  as  the  personal  representative  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  has  exerted  pressure  upon  the  Cuban  government  to 
effect  political  reforms  and  to  balance  the  budget.  It  is  expected 
that  sufficient  good  can  be  accomplished  by  these  friendly  and  per¬ 
sonal  efforts  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  any  direct  intervention  in  the 
administration  of  Cuba. 


II.  Economic  Background 

Cuba  is  the  largest  and  most  important  of  the  West  Indian 
islands.  Its  length  is  about  780  miles,  average  width  from  fifty  to 
sixty  miles,  greatest  width  100  miles,  narrowest  width  thirty-five 


9 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


miles.  Havana  is  about  ninety  miles  from  Key  West,  Florida,  and 
Santiago,  about  the  same  distance  from  Kingston,  Jamaica.  The  pop¬ 
ulation  of  the  largest  cities  is  as  follows:  Havana,  360,000;  Santiago, 
50,000;  Matanzas,  37,000;  Cienfuegos,  40,000;  Camaguey,  35,000. 

The  total  area  is  about  44,000  square  miles,  about  the  same  as 
that  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  The  population  is  2,700,000,  or 
about  sixty  to  the  square  mile.  Cuba’s  seacoast  is  approximately 
2,000  miles  long,  which  is  equal  to  that  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the 
United  States.  In  other  words,  if  Cuba’s  entire  coast  were  placed 
along  the  Atlantic  coast  it  would  reach  from  Boston  on  the  north 
to  Key  West  on  the  south.  At  the  same  time  it  has  more  fine  deep¬ 
water  harbors  than  any  other  country  in  the  western  hemisphere. 

The  climate  of  Cuba  while  tropical  is  moderate.  The  weather 
bureau  at  Camaguey  records  the  maximum  temperatures  in  August 
as  ninety-five  degrees,  and  the  minimum  temperature  in  January 
as  fifty  degrees.  For  the  four  hottest  months  of  the  year  the 
mean  temperature  is  about  eighty  degrees.  The  climate  is  salubri¬ 
ous, — the  death  rate  is  only  14.5  per  thousand,  which  is  said  to  be 
the  lowest  of  any  country  in  the  world  with  the  exception  of  Australia. 

There  are  over  2,200  miles  of  railways  on  the  island.  This  makes 
Cuba  in  proportion  to  its  size,  one  of  the  best  served  in  respect  to 
railroad  transportation  of  any  of  the  American  republics.  There  are 
few  towns  in  Cuba  that  are  more  than  a  few  miles  away  from  some 
railway. 

Cuba  has  always  been  essentially  an  agricultural  country  with 
large  tracts  especially  adapted  for  cattle  raising.  Of  late  years  her 
mineral  resources  have  attracted  attention,  the  principal  metals  pro¬ 
duced  being  iron,  copper  and  manganese.  There  are  also  asphalt 
and  petroleum  deposits.  Bananas,  cocoanuts,  cacao,  coffee,  tobacco 
and  sugar  cane  have  been  the  staple  productive  crops  of  Cuba  for 
centuries. 

Shortly  after  Cuba  'was  started  on  her  way  as  an  independent 
republic  in  1902,  President  Roosevelt  began  to  advocate  a  special 
tariff  arrangement  for  Cuban  products.  He  insisted  that  inasmuch 
as  Cuba  had  been  brought  within  our  system  of  international  policy 
it  necessarily  followed  that  it  must  to  a  certain  degree  come  within 
the  lines  of  our  economic  policy.  He  finally  succeeded  by  the  close 
of  the  year  1903  in  getting  the  approval  of  Congress  to  a  special 
reciprocity  convention  with  Cuba  by  which  all  Cuban  products  not 
on  the  free  list  are  to  be  admitted  into  the  United  States  at  a 
reduction  of  twenty  per  cent  from  American  tariff  rates.  This 

10 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


treaty,  together  with  the  guarantee  of  stable  political  conditions  af¬ 
forded  by  the  Platt  Amendment,  caused  a  great  inrush  of  American 
capital  to  Cuba,  and  a  wonderful  development  of  Cuban  commerce. 
In  ten  years’  time  the  exports  increased  one  hundred  fifty  per  cent 
and  the  imports  eighty-two  per  cent.  How  important  the  island  has 
become  as  an  element  of  trade  in  the  United  States  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  Cuba  ranks  fifth  among  all  the  countries  from  which  the 
United  States  imports  goods,  and  takes  sixth  place  among  her  cus¬ 
tomers.  As  further  emphasizing  Cuba’s  key  position  in  Pan-America 
is  the  fact  that  according  to  the  reports  of  1917  Cuba  took  care  of 
nearly  thirty-three  per  cent  of  the  entire  exports  of  the  United  States 
to  the  whole  of  Latin  America,  and  she  exported  to  the  United  States 
nearly  twenty-six  per  cent  of  all  our  purchases  from  Latin  America. 

Of  course  the  greater  part  of  this  commerce,  or  to  speak  more 
accurately  more  than  two-thirds,  is  in  sugar ;  and  sugar  and  tobacco 
together  make  up  ninety  per  cent  of  Cuban  export  trade.  Sugar  is  the 
basis  of  prosperity  of  Cuba  and  to  a  large  degree  controls  both  her 
domestic  and  her  foreign  policy. 

But  the  most  remarkable  fact  about  the  wealth  and  prosperity 
of  Cuba  is  that  it  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  foreigners.  The  railway 
and  street  car  systems  are  under  Anglo-American  control ;  public 
lighting,  American ;  city  property,  sixty  per  cent  owned  or  pledged  to 
foreign  interests  as  security  for  loans ;  rural  property,  sixty-six 
per  cent  American;  sugar  interests,  fifty-six  per  cent  American  con¬ 
trolled  and  forty-four  per  cent  other  foreign  control ;  tobacco,  seventy 
per  cent  Anglo-American ;  mining,  Anglo-American ;  banking,  sev¬ 
enty-five  per  cent  foreign ;  shipping,  foreign.  Statistics  may  reveal  a 
wonderful  state  of  progress,  but  when  one  comes  to  study  the  distri¬ 
bution  of  this  wealth  another  story  is  told.  Absentee  ownership 
means  that  the  wealth  produced  by  the  fertile  soil  and  rich  mines 
of  Cuba  goes  to  New  York,  London  and  Madrid  to  be  distributed 
among  foreign  stock  and  bond-holders.  Upon  landing  in  Havana 
one  is  impressed  on  seeing  how  completely  the  retail  business  of  the 
city  is  in  the  hands  of  Spaniards.  Cubans  have  been  forced  into 
minor  positions  in  every  line  except  law,  medicine  and  politics.  The 
only  thing  Cuban  in  Cuba  is  the  state,  and  this  situation  goes  far 
to  explain  a  great  deal  of  the  political  unrest.  Government  positions 
are  the  only  avenue  of  advancement  open  to  many  an  aspiring  Cuban 
youth. 

The  fact  that  four-fifths  of  Cuba’s  exports  are  to  the  United 
States  and  that  more  than  one-half  of  her  imports  come  from  the 
United  States  makes  our  relations  with  that  country  the  most  im- 


11 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


portant  of  Cuba’s  foreign  interests,  and  in  these  days  economic  rela¬ 
tions  of  a  strong  with  a  weak  country  often  imply  a  certain  measure 
of  political  and  social  control.  No  student  of  missions,  therefore, 
can  afford  to  neglect  the  bearing  of  economic  conditions  upon  the 
problems  to  be  met  in  the  work  of  evangelization. 

For  the  development  of  the  sugar  industry  the  Cuban  labor  supply 
has  never  been  sufficient  and  recourse  has  been  had  to  immigration 
from  other  countries.  Every  year  thousands  of  hardy  Spanish  peas¬ 
ants  come  over  for  the  harvest  season  in  the  cane  fields  and  return  to 
Spain  at  its  conclusion.  Field  hands  from  Jamaica  and  Haiti  have 
also  been  contracted  in  large  numbers.  The  wages  paid  in  Cuba 
have  always  been  higher  than  on  any  of  the  neighboring  islands 
of  the  West  Indies  and,  therefore,  it  has  not  been  difficult  to  attract 
sufficient  foreign  labor. 

The  western  end  of  the  island,  where  is  the  capital  Havana,  is  the 
more  populous  and  developed  part.  Eastern  Cuba  was  left  without 
a  railroad  until  1903,  Since  then  forests  have  been  cleared,  much 
lumber  has  been  exported,  new  towns  built  and  new  sections  opened 
up  to  settlement  and  productive  cultivation.  To  the  traveler  along 
the  railroad  there  are  in  many  places  yet  remaining  indications  of 
pioneer  life,— hastily  constructed  frame  buildings  amid  new  clearings. 
The  two  eastern  provinces  that  comprise  one-half  the  territory  of  the 
island  are  easily  capable  of  supporting  a  vastly  increased  population 
and  even  then  will  fall  far  short  of  the  density  of  Porto  Rico  and  Haiti, 

III.  Social  Background 

The  population  of  Cuba  is  divided  between  the  Negroes  and  white 
people  much  about  the  same  as  in  our  Southern  States,  The  Indians 
in  the  West  Indies  were  so  thoroughly  exterminated  by  the  early 
Spaniards  through  wars  and  forced  labor  that  there  is  little  of  their 
stock  to  be  found  in  the  present  inhabitants.  The  census  reports  fully 
seventy  per  cent  of  the  people  as  being  white,  and  only  thirty  per  cent 
as  being  Negroes,  Nearly  twelve  per  cent  of  the  population  is  for¬ 
eign  born,  of  whom  the  great  majority — somewhat  more  than  200,000 
• — are  from  Spain.  These  Spaniards  constitute  a  very  valuable  ele¬ 
ment  for  their  thrift  and  industry.  Instances  are  common  of  Span¬ 
iards  who  arrived  in  Cuba  with  nothing  but  their  bags  of  clothing 
and  who  are  now  among  the  wealthiest  business  men  and  planters. 

It  is  to  be  expected  for  various  reasons  that  Cuba  should  be 
rapidly  Americanized,  not  only  because  of  its  nearness  to  the  United 
States  but  also  because  of  the  large  American  investments  on  the 


12 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


island.  The  first  impression  upon  a  traveler  in  Havana  is  that  the 
city  has  become  a  great  tourist  center  and  that  American  sports, 
especially  horse  racing  and  baseball,  have  taken  a  firm  hold  upon  the 
affections  of  the  people.  To  these  influences  must  be  added  those  of 
the  eight  or  ten  thousand  Cuban  youths  who  annually  go  North  to 
attend  American  schools  and  return  to  their  own  land  full  of  en¬ 
thusiasm  for  American  ways.  Last,  but  not  least,  is  the  direct  pressure 
exercised  by  our  government  upon  the  Cuban  administration  when¬ 
ever  it  is  felt  that  reforms  should  be  effected  to  lessen  the  danger 
of  intervention.  The  use  of  the  English  language  is  not  growing, 
except  with  the  upper  and  privileged  classes. 

One  thing  that  the  Spaniards  have  taught  the  Cubans  is  the  organi¬ 
zation  of  cooperative  societies.  Havana  is  famous  for  its  great 
clubs,  three  of  them  having  a  combined  membership  of  over  one 
hundred  thousand.  These  clubs  are  the  greatest  mutual  benefit 
agencies  to  be  found  in  Spanish  America.  The  Gallego  Club  is  for 
the  benefit  particularly  of  those  Spaniards  coming  from  the  Province 
of  Galicia.  There  is  no  finer  building  in  Cuba  than  the  Gallego  Club, 
costing  about  one  million  dollars.  Next  in  rank  comes  the  Asturiano 
Club  with  a  membership  of  36,000,  composed  principally  of  Spaniards 
from  the  Province  of  Asturia.  Then  there  is  a  clerks’  club  with  a 
membership  of  30,000,  for  the  benefit  of  the  clerks  of  Havana,  with 
its  home  in  a  palace  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  Members  of  these  clubs 
have  the  privilege  of  night  schools,  musical  instruction  and  hospital 
care. 

Intemperance  has  never  been  considered  the  prominent  and  de¬ 
structive  evil  among  the  Latin  that  it  has  been  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
world.  The  Latin  races  have  the  reputation  of  drinking  wines  and 
liquors  in  moderation.  In  any  case  the  public  conscience  on  this 
question  has  never  been  developed  as  it  has  in  Protestant  lands.  One 
may  go  into  a  drinking  place  without  being  conscious  of  being  in  a 
saloon  because  the  Spanish  cafe  dispenses  as  much  coffee  and  bottled 
water  as  alcoholic  beverages.  They  are  frequented  by  all  classes  of 
society,  men  and  women  alike,  and  have  never  had  the  low  atmosphere 
that  has  characterized  the  American  saloon.  Beer  is  served  every¬ 
where  and  it  occasions  surprise  that  anyone  should  refuse  it  from 
conscientious  motives.  Nevertheless  there  has  been  a  growth  in  in¬ 
temperance,  due  perhaps  to  the  example  of  Americans,  especially  in 
recent  years  since  Havana  has  become  the  Mecca  of  all  anti-prohibi¬ 
tionists  in  the  United  States. 

The  American  occupation  and  military  government  abolished  cock- 
fighting,  but  when  Cuba  attained  complete  independence  it  was  re- 


13 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


stored  and  is  now  the  most  popular  sport.  CoclcHfights  are  usually 
held  on  Sunday  and  almost  every  town  has  a  cock-pit  constructed  in 
amphitheatre  style.  Everywhere  throughout  the  country  on  Sunday 
one  may  meet  these  gamesters  carrying  one  or  two  roosters  under 
their  arms  and  if  on  the  train  the  railway  coach  seems  to  become  a 
barnyard.  Of  course  gambling  is  connected  with  cock-fighting  and 
adds  to  the  attractiveness  of  it. 

One  of  the  best  racing  tracks  in  the  world  is  to  be  found  in 
Havana.  For  four  months  every  year  during  the  winter  season  racing 
is  on  almost  daily  and  thousands  of  visitors  from  the  States  are  at¬ 
tracted  to  this.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  gambling  on  a 
large  scale  is  connected  with  this  institution. 

In  fact  as  a  social  evil  gambling  anywhere  in  Latin  America  is 
far  graver  than  intemperance.  It  seems  to  be  in  the  blood  of  the 
race.  Perhaps  the  most  popular  institution  in  Cuba  today  is  the 
national  lottery,  abolished  by  the  American  military  government  but 
restored  by  the  Cuban.  The  government  receives  a  clear  revenue  of 
some  thirty  per  cent  from  this  institution.  All  classes  patronize  it 
but  its  worst  effects  are  seen  among  the  poor.  It  is  a  breeder  of 
poverty  and  a  discourager  of  thrift.  It  has  drawings  about  every 
ten  days  and  twenty-five  cents  is  the  smallest  amount  that  can  be 
invested  in  a  chance. 

Of  American  sports  that  have  been  introduced  baseball  is  the  most 
popular.  Though  played  in  all  parts  of  the  island  it  has  not  taken 
the  place  of  cock-fighting.  Basketball  and  soccer  football  are  also 
played  to  some  extent.  A  great  need  exists  in  Cuba  for  public  play¬ 
grounds.  Especially  in  the  cities  is  one  impressed  with  the  throngs 
of  children  having  no  place  to  play  except  in  the  streets,  where  they 
may  be  seen  chasing  one  another  around  the  corners  in  constant  danger 
from  the  traffic. 

The  movies  abound  everywhere  in  Cuba,  but  the  pictures  exhibited 
frequently  seem  to  be  the  very  off-scouring  of  the  dramatic  world. 
Certain  theatres  in  Havana  have  been  infamous  for  their  exhibitions. 
In  general  the  quality  of  the  pictures  exhibited  all  over  the  island 
is  such  as  to  give  credence  to  the  opinion  that  those  which  fail  to 
pass  the  censor  in  the  United  States  are  sent  to  Latin  America. 

In  their  family  life  Cubans  differ  little  from  the  people  of  Mexico, 
Porto  Rico  and  South  America.  They  are  affectionate  to  their  chil¬ 
dren,  even  to  the  point  of  neglecting  discipline.  They  are  loyal  to 
one  another  in  the  family  circle.  Instances  are  very  common  of  homes 
of  poor  people  being  opened  to  take  in  the  orphans  of  relatives  or 


14 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


neighbors  at  great  sacrifice.  And  yet  when  all  is  said  about  their 
appreciation  of  the  family  it  remains  to  be  stated  that  the  conscience  is 
untrained  and  on  a  different  basis  from  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
world.  While  the  Cuban  woman  is  just  as  good  and  faithful  to 
her  husband  as  her  Anglo-Saxon  sister,  the  same  cannot  be  said  of 
the  Cuban  man.  Popular  opinion  even  in  the  best  society  tolerates 
a  double  standard  of  morals. 

The  restraints  and  restrictions  thrown  about  the  girl  of  the  bet¬ 
ter  class  are  far  in  excess  of  anything  known  in  this  country.  She 
is  carefully  guarded  and  chaperoned,  and  even  during  the  period  of 
courtship  after  the  suitor  has  been  admitted  into  the  family  circle 
she  is  never  left  alone;  consequently  there  is  not  the  same  comrade¬ 
ship  between  husband  and  wife  that  is  the  glory  of  the  American 
home.  In  a  few  mission  schools,  where  there  is  coeducation,  a  new 
order  is  coming  into  vogue  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  young  people 
who  have  learned  to  know  each  other  in  the  classroom  and  the  social 
life  of  the  college  will  make  happier  matches  and  raise  the  standard 
of  married  life  for  the  whole  island. 

Considerably  more  than  half  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cuba  are  en¬ 
gaged  in  agriculture  and  live  in  hamlets  and  towns  of  less  than  one 
thousand  population.  Among  these  people  life  is  reduced  to  the 
barest  simplicity.  The  usual  residence  of  the  country  laborer  is  a 
little  palm-thatched  shack  with  dirt  floor,  whose  only  furniture  is  a 
bench,  a  table,  a  canvas  cot  and  a  hammock.  His  food  consists  of 
rice  and  beans  and  plantain  and  salt  cod-fish  with  black  coffee.  The 
more  prosperous  own  a  cow  and  a  horse.  Two  or  three  acres  belong¬ 
ing  to  him,  or  loaned  by  the  sugar  estate  upon  which  he  lives,  affords 
him  a  scant  harvest  of  sweet  potatoes,  plantain,  cassava,  corn  and 
beans.  Perhaps  he  cuts  some  scrub  timber  from  a  neighboring 
swamp  and  burns  charcoal,  which  he  sells  in  the  nearest  town.  On 
Sunday  he  goes  to  market  in  this  town  and  sells  his  produce.  Some 
of  this  money  he  invests  in  a  lottery  ticket,  and  he  must  have  a 
strong  character  if  he  does  not  lose  some  of  the  remainder  in  the 
afternoon  at  a  cock-fight.  The  most  surprising  feature  of  country 
life  is  to  see  so  many  neatly  dressed  people  in  freshly  ironed  cotton 
goods  issue  on  a  Sunday  morning  from  the  most  miserable  hovels. 

On  the  great  sugar  estates  neat  little  cabins  are  provided  for  the 
laborers,  and  a  few  of  the  companies  are  making  sincere  attempts  to 
provide  for  the  comfort  of  their  employees.  The  largest  of  these 
has  built  ten  schoolhouses  for  the  children  of  its  employees  and 
hires  the  schoolteachers.  It  also  employs  one  who  was  formerly  a 
Methodist  missionary  as  superintendent  of  their  welfare  work.  All 


15 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


of  this  has  had  an  excellent  efifect  upon  the  moral  as  well  as  the 
physical  life  of  their  employees. 

IV.  Educational  Background 

Educationally,  Cuba  before  becoming  an  independent  republic  was 
in  the  same  situation  as  all  of  Spanish  America.  The  tendency  of 
every  country  where  the  Roman  Catholic  civilization  prevails  has 
been  to  educate  the  few  who  are  to  be  the  ruling  class  and  to  neglect 
the  many  upon  whom  the  whole  fabric  of  their  civilization  rests. 
According  to  the  best  figures  obtainable  the  attendance  in  the  public 
schools  before  American  intervention  in  1898  was  21,000.  There 
was  a  public  school  system  similar  to  that  of  Spain  but  it  fell  easily 
under  the  dominating  influence  of  the  church.  Schoolhouses  as 
distinct  edifices  erected  for  school  purposes  were  unknown.  Schools 
were  usually  held  in  the  residence  of  the  teacher.  One  of  the  first 
changes  introduced  by  the  American  military  government  was  the 
institution  of  a  new  school  system.  A  school  law  issued  very  early 
in  the  American  occupation  provided  for  municipal  boards  of  edu¬ 
cation,  for  the  payment  of  teachers,  and  for  the  rental  of  school 
buildings  for  school  purposes.  It  authorized  the  expenditure  of  a 
sum  not  exceeding  $50.00  for  furniture  for  each  schoolroom.  When 
this  fact  became  known  applications  for  appropriations  poured  in 
by  the  hundreds.  Within  six  months  the  number  of  schools  rose 
from  635  to  3,313.  So  overwhelming  was  the  application  for  this 
allotment  that  on  March  3,  1900,  a  telegraphic  order  was  sent  out 
forbidding  the  opening  of  any  more  schools.  It  is  probable  that 
the  desire  to  draw  the  excellent  pay  of  a  Cuban  teacher  was  in  many 
cases  the  immediate  cause  of  the  demand  for  schools.  There  being 
few  opportunities  for  employment  for  people  of  the  middle  class  it 
was  natural  that  hundreds  of  them  should  seek  to  get  upon  the  gov¬ 
ernment  payrolls  as  schoolteachers.  Unfortunately  it  has  been  dif¬ 
ficult  in  Cuba  to  divorce  these  appointments  from  political  influence. 

The  sum  appropriated  from  the  public  funds  for  school  establish¬ 
ment  and  maintenance  during  the  year  1900  was  $4,000,000.  This 
was  only  a  little  less  than  one-quarter  of  the  total  revenue  of  the 
island.  This  proportion  was  maintained  until  after  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  the  first  president.  Since  then  there  has  been  deterioration 
in  the  whole  organization  of  public  education. 

The  present  system  calls  for  a  cabinet  official  known  as  the  Sec¬ 
retary  of  Public  Instruction,  with  office  in  Havana.  After  him  as 
chief  there  is  a  Superintendent  of  Education  in  each  province  and 
another  in  each  municipality.  There  is  a  Board  of  Education  for 


16 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


each  province  and  municipality.  The  school  system  is  graded  more 
or  less  accurately  from  the  primary  school  up  to  the  national  univer¬ 
sity  in  Havana  which  grants  doctor’s  degrees  and  is  composed  of 
college,  technical  and  professional  courses.  That  which  corresponds 
to  the  American  high  school  is  called  an  institute,  with  five-yeai 
courses,  and  grants  the  bachelor’s  degree.  There  is  one  such  in¬ 
stitute  in  each  province.  The  work  is  done  on  the  lecture  basis. 
The  ages  of  the  pupils  in  these  institutes  would  correspond  to  those 
in  our  high  schools,  from  thirteen  years  upward.  Great  emphasis 
is  placed  upon  the  examinations  at  the  close  of  the  school  year  and 
if  passing  marks  are  obtained  one  may  go  on  to  the  next  class, 
irrespective  of  regularity  in  attendance  during  the  year.  Below  the 
high  school  there  are  two  years  grammar  and  three  years  primary. 
Unfortunately  for  Cuba  the  public  schools  have  not  the  standing  and 
prestige  of  the  public  school  in  Porto  Rico.  Only  the  poorest  attend 
them.  The  provincial  institutes  labor  under  the  great  disadvantage 
of  having  young  people  who  come  from  homes  of  the  lower  classes 
where  family  training  and  discipline  have  been  lacking.  Children 
from  good  families  are  not  sent  to  these  schools  but  to  some  private 
school  or  denominational  institution. 

Perhaps  the  principal  explanation  of  the  low  condition  of  the 
public  schools  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  political  parties  have  used 
them  as  pawns  in  their  strife  for  supremacy.  A  Cuban  writer  in  a 
Cuban  magazine  affirms  that  the  school  system  has  degenerated  into  a 
political  machine ;  that  provincial  superintendents  are  administration 
errand  boys,  not  technical  men  ;  that  a  politically  elected  commissioner 
chooses  teachers  on  political,  not  educational,  grounds ;  and  that  the 
schools  suffer  from  frequent  political  disturbances.  The  difficulties 
in  the  life  of  the  people  which  must  be  corrected  by  the  schools  are, 
first,  economic  improvidence,  lack  of  thought  for  the  future ;  second, 
addiction  to  gambling,  which  is  excessive  in  the  lower  classes ;  third, 
superstition,  which  is  especially  noticeable  among  the  women;  fourth, 
gross  language  among  the  boys.  In  1902  the  percentage  of  illiteracy 
was  eighty.  Today  this  percentage  has  dropped  to  something  like 
fifty,  and  this  .is  mostly  accounted  for  by  the  older  and  mature  people 
who  under  the  old  system  had  no  opportunity  to  learn  in  their  youth. 
There  are  few  today  under  thirty  who  cannot  read  or  write.  But 
unfortunately  that  is  all  most  of  them  can  do,  as  we  are  told  that  only 
twelve  per  cent  of  the  pupils  get  beyond  the  second  grade.  Even  in 
cities  of  the  ten  thousand  class  government  instruction  rarely  goes 
beyond  the  third  or  fourth  grade.  The  uniformly  poor  secular  facili¬ 
ties  scale  down  with  the  lesser  communities  to  disappearance  in  the 
remotest  sections.  In  the  large  sugar  plantations  there  are  from 


17 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


twelve  to  fourteen  hamlets  situated  from  one  to  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
from  a  central  point.  At  the  central  point  there  is  a  public  school 
but  none  in  the  hamlets.  Dr.  Ramon  Guerra,  an  experienced  edu¬ 
cator,  in  an  address  delivered  in  Havana  May  13,  1921,  gave  the 
following  statistics  for  public  education  in  Cuba.  “According  to  the 
census  of  1919  Cuba  has  a  population  of  obligatory  school  age,  that 
is  from  six  to  fourteen,  of  723,756.  If  as  in  all  enlightened  coun¬ 
tries  the  school  age  should  be  considered  to  be  from  five  to  seven¬ 
teen,  then  Cuba,  according  to  that  census  had  more  than  a  million 
children  of  elementary  school  age.  For  the  instruction  of  these 
children  there  are  5,700  schools,  and  a  total  matriculation  of  291,648. 
These  figures  in  comparison  with  723,756  children  of  obligatory 
school  age  inform  us  that  there  are  432,108  children  of  from  six 
to  fourteen  years  of  age  who  are  not  registered  in  the  public  schools. 
It  is  an  incontrovertible  fact  that  the  public  school  in  Cuba  is  giving 
instruction  to  a  minority  of  the  Cuban  children.”  He  calls  upon  the 
government  to  return  to  the  policy  of  General  Wood  and  of  their 
first  president,  Estrada  Palma,  and  devote  twenty-five  per  cent  of 
the  income  to  public  instruction.  The  somber  picture  of  a  low  mat¬ 
riculation  becomes  still  darker  if  we  consider  the  attendance  of  the 
children  of  the  schools  reduced  during  the  school  year  1919-20  to 
167,000,  a  most  distressing  figure,  informing  us  that  the  discipline  is 
lacking  to  enforce  attendance  even  of  those  who  are  enrolled. 

V.  Beginning  and  Development  of  Missionary  Work 

The  Spanish- American  War  marked  the  beginning  of  a  period  of 
expansion  in  the  missionary  activities  of  the  Christian  people  of  the 
United  States,  paralleling  in  significance  the  political  expansion  of 
that  epoch.  Inasmuch  as  responsibility  for  Cuba’s  political  tutelage 
rested  unmistakably  upon  the  American  Government,  the  Christian 
people  of  America  felt  that  the  burden  of  Cuba’s  evangelization  was 
upon  them. 

The  Island  of  Cuba  was  then  in  a  state  of  deplorable  religious 
neglect.  In  the  year  1900  in  a  certain  municipal  district  of  Oriente 
Province  there  was  a  population  of  30,000.  Only  one  priest  was  in 
the  district  and  his  ministrations  were  limited  to  the  performance  of 
sacramental  rites.  Each  of  these  was  performed  only  when  the 
interested  party  made  payment  in  accordance  with  a  fixed  schedule 
of  prices — a  certain  price  for  baptism,  a  higher  price  for  marriages, 
while  the  cheapest  mass  for  the  repose  of  souls  was  sold  for  one 
dollar.  There  were  no  Sunday  schools  nor  classes  for  religious 
teaching  of  any  kind.  Almost  two  decades  had  passed  since  a  ser¬ 
mon  had  been  preached. 


18 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


In  many  other  parts  of  the  island  the  religious  neglect  was  even 
greater.  Most  of  the  priests  were  Spaniards.  The  more  intelligent 
soon  returned  to  their  homes  in  Spain.  Many  of  those  who  re¬ 
mained  were  ignorant ;  some  were  controlled  by  avarice,  and  some 
were  living  immoral  lives.  Religion  as  such  was  in  popular  dis¬ 
repute. 

Under  the  Spanish  regime  there  had  been  no  real  religious  free¬ 
dom.  It  is  true  that  an  interesting  Protestant  work  had  been  car¬ 
ried  on  for  some  years  in  Havana,  but  organized  Protestant  work 
found  its  pathway  blocked  at  almost  every  turn.  The  sale  and  dis¬ 
tribution  of  Bibles  had  been  prohibited,  but  adventurous  Bible  agents 
had  found  ways  of  circulating  the  Scriptures.  Some  years  after  the 
establishment  of  Protestant  work  a  missionary  went  to  a  remote  town 
of  the  interior  and  started  a  class  in  the  study  of  the  New  Testament. 
After  a  time  the  missionary  was  told  by  one  of  the  class  that  he 
believed  he  had  once  possessed  a  book  similar  to  the  one  that  they 
were  studying.  After  searching  in  his  home  he  found  in  the  bottom 
of  an  old  trunk  a  New  Testament  which  a  colporter  had  given  him 
sixteen  years  before. 

With  political  freedom  at  the  beginning  of  1899,  the  door  was 
opened  wide  to  the  work  of  Protestant  missionaries.  Aflame  with 
the  enthusiasm  kindled  by  the  newly  opened  door  several  of  the 
leading  denominations  in  the  United  States  and  some  of  the  smaller 
religious  groups  started  missionary  work  in  Cuba.  The  first  workers 
came  largely  from  two  sources;  Cubans  who  had  been  in  exile  in 
the  United  States  and  American  workers  with  experience  in  Mexico. 

During  the  period  of  revolutionary  activities  many  Cubans  had 
emigrated  to  Florida  and  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  Some 
of  these  were  reached  by  the  churches,  and  having  known  the  way  of 
Christ  these  converts  felt  the  urge  to  carry  the  message  to  their  own 
countrymen  and  responded  to  the  challenge  of  the  open  door  in 
1899. 

The  mission  boards  having  work  in  Mexico  levied  upon  their 
workers  in  that  field  for  recruits  who  were  prepared  with  the  lan¬ 
guage  and  experience  to  guide  the  efforts  of  the  workers  in  what 
seemed  to  promise  an  unprecedented  ingathering. 

Thousands  flocked  to  the  Protestant  missions.  Large  numbers 
were  received  as  members.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole 
island  would  be  quickly  evangelized.  New  recruits  were  sent  by  the 
mission  boards  from  the  United  States.  New  converts  who  showed 
promise  of  some  ability  as  evangelists  and  preachers  were  thrust  out 
into  the  fields. 


19 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


By  1903,  when  the  Cuba  Central  Railroad  was  completed,  the  zeal 
of  the  missionary  workers  had  carried  them  to  all  parts  of  the 
island.  Unfortunately,  notwithstanding  the  tireless  energy  and  the 
self-sacrificing  devotion  of  the  workers  which  in  many  instances 
merited  the  highest  praise,  the  superficial  character  of  the  most  of 
the  work  made  it  quickly  vanish  because  the  converts  were  unpre¬ 
pared  to  meet  the  stress  and  strain  of  the  new  life  which  confronted 
them.  In  the  leading  centers,  however,  a  solid  work  was  established. 

Another  problem  faced  the  missionary  workers  and  administrators 
at  that  time.  With  a  large  number  of  denominations  working  in  a 
comparatively  small  country  where  every  turn  was  an  inviting  oppor¬ 
tunity,  it  seemed  inevitable  that  there  should  be  duplication  of  effort 
in  some  of  the  more  promising  fields,  while  others  less  inviting  and 
more  difficult  of  access  would  be  neglected. 

The  greatest  success  in  the  comity  was  achieved  by  arrangements 
in  denominational  families.  The  Baptists,  North  and  South,  ad¬ 
justed  their  field  by  assigning  the  former  to  the  eastern  provinces 
of  Cuba  and  the  latter  to  the  western  provinces.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  left  to  the  M.  E.  Church  South  the  entire  responsi¬ 
bility  for  the  work  in  Cuba  so  far  as  that  denominational  family  was 
concerned.  The  two  Presbyterian  families  at  first  occupied  separate 
areas  but  in  later  years  the  work  has  been  merged,  though  both 
branches  of  Presbyterians  still  contribute  to  the  work  in  Cuba. 
The  Disciples  in  recent  years  withdrew,  leaving  their  work  to  be 
cared  for  by  the  Presbyterians.  The  Eriends  some  years  ago  com¬ 
bined  an  independent  mission  established  by  members  of  their  denom¬ 
inations  with  their  regular  work  and  all  is  now  under  the  direction 
of  their  denominational  board. 

Even  with  the  generous  appropriations  of  the  American  military 
government  for  the  establishment  of  free  schools  in  Cuba,  it  was 
found  that  these  could  not  meet  the  whole  educational  needs.  There 
was  an  insistent  demand  for  mission  schools  to  supplement  and  go 
beyond  what  the  public  schools  were  prepared  to  do.  With  the 
clouded  religious  background  of  most  of  the  children  of  converts, 
it  seemed  necessary  for  their  highest  development  that  they  should 
where  possible  receive  their  instruction  in  schools  where  there  was  a 
wholesome  religious  atmosphere.  So  eager  were  the  Cuban  parents 
for  the  advantages  of  the  mission  schools  that  they  willingly  paid 
for  the  education  of  their  children  in  these  schools  in  preference  to 
sending  them  to  the  newly  opened  free  schools.  Erequently  this 
was  a  means  by  which  an  inadequately  supported  pastor  could  sup¬ 
plement  his  income  and  thus  make  it  possible  for  him  to  stay  and 
shepherd  the  flock. 


20 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


The  first  ten  years  of  mission  work  in  Cuba  were  years  of 
earnest  effort,  but  years  of  experimenting  and  testing.  Perhaps  of 
more  enduring  value  than  the  record  of  converts  gained  was  the 
knowledge  gained  of  conditions  and  possibilities  in  that  new  field. 
New  Yorkers  had  successfully  adjusted  themselves  to  new  condi¬ 
tions.  A  serious  study  had  been  made  of  the  needs  and  possibilities 
of  a  people  whose  heritage  of  language,  temperament  and  customs 
was  foreign  to  the  missionaries  who  had  gone  among  them.  There 
has  been  the  testing  and  determining  of  the  elements  of  weakness 
and  strength  in  the  institutions  already  existing.  There  had  been 
gained  a  first  hand  knowledge  of  what  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
had  done  and  what  she  had  failed  to  do,  what  Spanish  domination 
and  American  intervention  had  done  and  what  they  had  failed  to 
do,  what  had  been  the  immediate  result  of  national  independence 
upon  the  moral  and  spiritual  life  of  the  people,  what  influences  were 
tugging  them  upward  and  what  groveling  downward  pull  was  hold¬ 
ing  them  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements,  what  thoughts  they  were 
thinking,  what  lives  they  lived  and  what  hopes  they  cherished.  There 
had  been  a  careful  casting  about  for  the  best  methods  and  procedures 
for  carrying  on  a  work  that  would  yield  both  adequate  and  permanent 
results.  Growing  out  of  these  beginnings  we  see  the  well  established 
Protestant  work  of  today. 

In  the  past  few  years  the  number  of  foreign  workers  has  dimin¬ 
ished  rather  than  increased.  In  the  Baptist  and  Presbyterian  groups 
the  work  of  the  local  churches  and  missions  is  almost  altogether  under 
the  leadership  of  Cuban  workers  and  in  the  other  denominations 
there  is  a  steady  trend  in  that  direction.  More  than  one  hundred 
Cuban  ministers  are  working  for  the  evangelization  of  their  own 
people  and  almost  as  many  teachers  of  both  sexes  are  with  like  con¬ 
secration  teaching  in  the  mission  schools. 

In  Cuba  the  public  schools,  after  the  manner  of  those  of  the 
United  States,  do  not  provide  any  religious  teaching  whatever.  But 
whereas  the  child  of  Christian  parents  in  the  United  States  has  a 
background  of  virile  faith,  the  Cuban  youth  lacks  this,  and  because 
of  this  lack  he  has  a  special  need  of  a  religious  education  that  will 
prepare  him  for  a  strong,  vigorous  religious  expression.  The  mis¬ 
sion  day  schools  have  done  much  to  meet  this  need.  One  teacher 
writes:  “At  eight  o’clock  the  bell  rings  and  the  morning  session 
begins.  The  hymn  books  are  passed  around  and  all  voices  join  with 
ours  in  songs  of  praise.  We  now  have  our  Bible  lesson.  The  refer¬ 
ences  have  been  given  out  to  those  who  have  arrived  early,  and  they 
will  now  read  when  called  upon.  How  eagerly  they  await  their  turn ! 
The  children  like  the  Bible  stories.  Last  month  we  had  the  story 


21 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


of  Joseph.  One  day  as  I  closed  my  Bible,  a  boy  said,  ‘Senorita,  if 
we  remain  after  school  this  evening,  will  you  finish  the  story?’  ” 

The  outstanding  educational  contribution,  however,  that  Protest¬ 
antism  has  made  in  Cuba  is  the  secondary  schools.  More  than  a 
dozen  such  schools  or  junior  colleges  are  being  maintained  success¬ 
fully,  with  a  total  matriculation  of  nearly  3,000  in  all  departments. 
A  very  creditable  showing  is  made  by  these  students  in  government 
examinations. 

“Los  Colegios  Internacionales’’  of  the  Northern  Baptists  at 
Cristo  under  the  direction  of  Robert  Routledge  has  made  a  notable 
contribution  to  raising  the  standards  of  life,  sending  out  as  they 
have  from  their  doors  into  all  parts  of  eastern  Cuba  trained  preachers 
and  teachers  together  with  business,  industrial  and  professional  men 
and  home-makers. 

“Colegio  Los  Amigos”  of  the  Friends  mission  at  Holguin  has 
been  built  up  in  ten  years  under  the  leadership  of  Clarence  G.  Mc- 
Clean  from  a  noisy  primary  school  of  thirty  pupils  to  a  standard 
junior  college  with  an  attendance  in  all  departments  of  about  three 
hundred. 

“La  Progesiva”  school  of  the  Presbyterians  at  Cardenas  with 
Miss  M.  Evelyn  Craig  as  principal  has  been  a  pioneer  in  coeduca¬ 
tion  in  Cuba.  Miss  Craig  has  been  ably  supported  in  her  work 
by  R.  L.  Wharton,  the  Superintendent  of  Education  in  the  Presby¬ 
terian  Mission. 

“Candler  College”  and  “Buena  Vista  College,”  Methodist  schools 
in  charge  of  H.  B.  Bardwell  and  Miss  Belle  Markey  respectively, 
and  the  Cuban-American  College,  a  Southern  Baptist  institution,  with 
W.  B.  Miller  as  principal,  are  schools  that  are  radiating  Christian 
influence  from  Havana  and  its  environs. 

There  are  many  other  schools,  some  of  which  are,  perhaps,  quite 
as  deserving  of  mention  as  the  above.  The  path  of  progress  in  Cuba 
leads  through  the  Christian  schoolroom. 

Cooperative  efforts  among  the  various  denominations  in  Cuba 
have  produced  some  helpful  results  despite  great  difficulties  en¬ 
countered.  The  fact  that  there  has  been  such  a  variety  of  coopera¬ 
tive  undertakings  shows  that  there  is  a  deep  concern  on  the  minds 
of  many  leaders  to  work  together  in  those  things  that  can  be  done 
better  together  than  separately.  While  the  Committee  on  Confer¬ 
ence  in  Cuba  which  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  giving  expres¬ 
sion  to  the  desires  for  cooperation  has  not  accomplished  all  that  had 


22 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


been  expected  of  it,  yet  it  did  open  up  a  channel  by  which  the 
churches  could  be  helped  in  cooperative  efforts. 

The  National  Sunday  School  Association  of  Cuba  has  made  a 
valuable  contribution  to  a  much  needed  line  of  work.  This  Associa¬ 
tion  is  affiliated  with  the  International  Sunday  School  Council  on 
Religious  Education.  The  present  General  Secretary  of  the  Cuba 
Association  is  S.  A.  Neblett,  who  has  had  wide  experience  in  Sunday 
school  work.  A  Sunday  school  quarterly  edited  and  published  by 
him  is  quite  widely  used.  The  Young  People’s  Societies  are  also 
organized  into  a  National  Association,  affiliated  with  the  Sunday 
School  Association. 

Five  years  ago  an  Interdenominational  Summer  Institute  was 
organized.  The  Presbyterians,  Friends  and  Northern  Baptists  are 
officially  connected  with  this,  though  every  summer  there  are  those 
who  attend  from  other  denominations.  Each  summer  an  outstanding 
leader  in  religious  work  in  the  United  States  is  brought  to  Cuba  for 
this  institute. 

At  one  time  there  were  five  religious  periodicals  published  as 
official  organs  of  as  many  denominations.  These  periodicals  have 
now  been  reduced  to  three  in  number  with  a  larger  circulation  than 
at  any  time  in  the  history  of  the  work  in  Cuba.  Considerable  atten¬ 
tion  has  been  given  to  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  and  of  religious 
literature.  For  some  time  a  religious  bookstore  has  been  maintained 
in  Havana.  Its  helpful  service  far  outmeasures  the  meager  resources 
at  its  command. 

While  the  language  of  the  Island  of  Cuba  is  Spanish  and  will 
probably  remain  so  for  generations  to  come,  nevertheless  there  are 
many  English-speaking  people  now  living  on  the  island.  These  are 
made  up  of  two  classes : — the  Americans,  Canadians  and  English  who 
have  come  to  Cuba  for  business,  industrial  and  recreational  pur¬ 
poses;  the  Jamaican  laborers  who  have  come  to  work  on  the  sugar 
plantations.  While  the  Methodists,  Presbyterians  and  Baptists  have 
done  some  work  among  the  English-speaking  population,  the  largest 
work  in  this  line  has  been  done  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

The  outstanding  institution  under  Protestant  auspices  for  at¬ 
tending  to  the  physical  and  social  needs  is  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Havana. 
Not  only  has  this  institution  ministered  to  its  some  hundreds  of 
members  in  the  metropolitan  city,  but  it  has  placed  its  resources  most 
generously  at  the  disposal  of  the  religious  forces  of  the  island  so 
that  in  a  very  real  way  its  commodious  building  is  the  capitol  of  Prot¬ 
estantism  in  Cuba. 


23 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


The  Industrial  School  for  Orphan  Children  in  Cardenas  has 
through  its  many  years  of  continued  ministrations  made  for  itself 
a  worthy  name  as  an  unselfish  contribution  of  Christian  service.  At 
the  present  time  it  cares  for  about  forty  children  of  both  sexes.  A 
Community  Service  organization  has  done  commendable  work  in 
some  of  the  centers  of  the  sugar  industry. 

The  earliest  missionaries  on  the  field  found  the  people  hungry 
for  preaching.  It  is  told  of  one  man  and  his  wife  that  they  regularly 
walked  six  miles  from  their  home  to  the  place  of  preaching  every 
Sunday.  In  ministering  to  this  hunger  of  the  people  there  has  been 
extensive  and  continuous  use  of  preaching  as  a  means  of  evangeliza¬ 
tion.  There  has  centered  in  Havana  a  strong  leadership  in  preach¬ 
ing.  Bishop  H.  R.  Hulse,  E.  A.  Odell,  E.  E.  Clements  and  M.  N. 
McCall,  as  superintendents  in  their  respective  denominations,  have 
maintained  a  high  type  of  public  ministry  themselves  and  thus  set 
the  standards  for  their  fields.  Several  scores  of  Cuban  converts  are 
in  the  active  work  of  preaching,  whose  call  and  vocation  for  this 
work  is  such  as  could  only  have  resulted  from  a  great  need. 

The  story  of  Jose  Rodriguez,  of  Bayamol,  as  related  by  one  of  the 
Baptist  missionaries,  tells  how  the  light  spreads  in  Cuba.  He  came 
faithfully  to  the  meetings  all  through  that  winter  until  the  revival  in 
February  and  March  of  1912.  He  lives  three  miles  from  the  church, 
with  a  very  bad  road  thither,  but  the  weather  never  hindered  him. 
There  was  no  one  more  deeply  interested  in  that  revival  than  Jose, 
though  not  then  a  Christian.  He  made  sacrifices  so  as  to  be  present 
at  all  those  meetings.  He  even  gave  up  his  work  in  the  fields  rather 
than  be  absent.  This  is  very  unusual  for  even  a  Christian  in  Cuba, 
and  extremely  rare  for  one  not  a  decided  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

When  the  meetings  were  tested  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  make 
his  decision  for  the  Master.  A  great  number  were  brought  in  during 
that  revival,  and  many  had  to  be  sifted  out  in  the  after  meetings  held 
for  that  purpose,  and  for  teaching  the  sincere.  Jose,  though  unable 
to  read,  faithfully  mastered  the  texts  and  passages  given  to  the  con¬ 
verts,  and  manifested  a  fervor  very  deep  and  real,  and  a  conviction 
rarely  seen  in  Latin  countries. 

He  was  ready  for  baptism,  with  a  number  of  others,  when  we 
learned  from  him  that  he  was  living  with  his  wife  unmarried.  In 
other  words,  he  was  living  in  concubinage.  This  is  a  very  common 
thing  in  Roman  Catholic  lands,  and  in  Cuba  great  numbers  of  people 
live  in  this  unmoral  way.  In  the  case  of  Jose,  he  had  lived  with  the 
same  woman  for  twenty-five  years,  and  had  a  family  of  eight  by 
her.  His  eldest  son  was  legally  married,  but  Jose  was  not.  Now 


24 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


such  converts  are  not  baptized  unless  they  consent  to  be  married 
first,  thus  bringing  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance.  We  told  Jose 
this,  and  assured  him  that  when  he  married  his  wife  we  would  gladly 
baptize  him.  Days  and  weeks  passed  by,  others  were  baptized  but 
he  was  not.  Yet  he  never  missed  a  meeting.  His  place  in  the  church 
was  never  vacant,  unless  when  working  at  Manzanillo,  forty  miles 
away. 

At  that  time  his  interest  in  the  church  work  was  as  great  as  that 
of  the  members  of  the  church.  Though  a  poor  man  he  subscribed 
ten  dollars  to  the  organ  fund,  a  larger  sum  than  any  Cuban  member 
of  the  church.  He  also  subscribed  freely  when  we  needed  help  for 
the  electric  light  installation.  All  this  meant  genuine  sacrifice  for 
him. 

So  we  reached  December,  1912,  and  Jose  had  not  decided  to 
marry.  What  hindered  him  no  one  seemed  to  know,  but  we  prayed 
on  for  him  in  faith  and  hope. 

Finally  the  crisis  came ;  the  Lord  was  to  get  the  victory.  It  was 
the  last  week  of  December  when  Jose  came  to  me  and  declared  his 
intention  to  be  married  to  his  wife.  He  said  he  wanted  to  pass  over 
the  threshold  of  the  new  year  a  new  man.  He  was  intensely  happy 
at  the  prospect,  and  we  were  thankful  and  praised  the  Lord.  Ar¬ 
rangements  were  made  during  the  last  week  of  the  year  for  the 
wedding.  On  December  31  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  church 
went  out  to  Jose’s  home,  three  miles  from  the  city,  on  horseback,  to 
celebrate  the  eventful  occasion.  At  4:30  the  ceremony  took  place 
in  the  presence  of  a  large  company  of  country  people.  As  soon  as 
the  papers  were  signed  Jose  did  a  beautiful  thing.  He  gathered  his 
eight  children  around  him  and  his  now  wedded  wife,  and  said  to 
them  that  they  had  seen  their  mother  and  father  married  that  after¬ 
noon,  and  he  wanted  them  to  remember  that  he  had  done  this  because 
he  believed  in  Jesus,  and  loved  Him,  and  wanted  to  do  the  things 
that  pleased  Him. 

“He  that  believeth  on  Me,  out  of  his  innermost  being  shall  flow 
rivers  of  living  water.”  So  said  the  Master  of  all  true  believers. 
They  have  begun  to  flow  from  Jose.  Though  not  able  to  read,  he 
carries  a  Bible  with  him,  and  when  he  has  an  opportunity  he  asks 
some  one  to  read  for  him.  Thus  some  are  introduced  to  the  Book 
who  have  never  read  it  before.  On  several  occasions  it  ended  in 
Jose  losing  his  Bible,  for  the  person  became  so  interested  that  he 
begged  for  the  book.  Thus  he  turns  his  very  weakness  into  strength ; 
his  inability  into  ability.  When  he  goes  into  the  country  to  work. 


25 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


he  takes  a  bundle  of  tracts  for  his  campaign  by  the  way.  A  mar¬ 
velous  work  has  resulted  from  one  of  these  trips. 

After  all  we  must  look  to  what  the  local  mission  church  is  doing 
for  the  test  of  the  value  of  Protestantism  in  Cuba.  It  is  this  work 
that  is  reaching  the  lives  of  the  common  people  and  giving  them 
a  new  vision  of  life  and  gripping  their  imaginations  with  the  stupen¬ 
dous  undertaking  of  bringing  the  Kingdom  of  God  to  Cuba. 

The  following  description  of  what  one  church  of  the  Friends  Mis¬ 
sion  is  doing  will  show  in  a  concrete  way  a  work  similar  to  that 
which  many  are  accomplishing  in  the  island. 

“They  (the  native  church  at  Gibara)  have  decided  to  release  the 
foreign  missionary  who  has  worked  among  them  so  that  he  can  do 
work  along  other  lines  and  have  pledged  in  their  budget  the  greater 
part  of  the  support  of  a  home-grown,  hand-picked,  Cuban  young  man 
whom,  with  the  advice  of  the  missionaries,  they  have  chosen  for  their 
pastor.  He  was  brought  up  in  their  town  and  converted  and  trained 
in  their  own  church,  Sunday  school  and  Christian  Endeavor.  He 
has  recently  become  the  happy  husband  of  a  most  suitable  helpmate, 
also  a  home-grown,  hand-picked  product  of  that  same  church  and 
a  graduate  of  its  mission  day  school.  The  budget  of  the  church 
for  this  year  is  $1,200  for  all  purposes.  This  is  $35.00  more  than 
they  actually  raised  last  year. 

“The  significance  of  such  an  undertaking  by  this  church  will  be 
seen  when  it  is  understood  that  of  the  thirty-two  members  contribut¬ 
ing  regularly  in  the  envelopes,  three  are  under  eight  years  of  age,  two 
between  eight  and  twelve,  five  between  thirteen  and  eighteen,  seven¬ 
teen  between  nineteen  and  thirty,  and  only  six  including  wives  are 
thirty  years  of  age  or  over.  An  examination  of  their  subscription 
list  shows  that  they  have  pledged  to  give  an  average  of  a  little  over 
$22.00  each,  including  small  children.  This  they  did  last  year  and 
besides  that  made  regular  contributions  to  Sunday  school,  Christian 
Endeavor  and  for  various  forms  of  benevolent  work.  Excepting 
the  children,  most  of  these  members  live  by  days’  work  in  factories 
or  otherwise.  Only  one  owns  his  own  home  and  with  the  exception 
of  three  or  four  families  all  live  in  homes  we  would  think  exceedingly 
inadequate  and  bare  of  comforts. 

“Moreover,  six  young  men,  spiritual  children  of  this  church, 
are  preaching  the  gospel  to  their  countrymen  in  various  places.  The 
mission  day  school  has  produced  several  teachers  who  are  teaching 
some  in  the  home  town,  some  at  other  places.’’ 


26 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


It  is  such  mission  churches  as  these  that  are  making  a  new  Cuba. 
They  are  the  dividends  on  the  investment  of  life,  of  prayer  and  of 
material  resources  that  Christian  America  has  made  during  more 
than  two  decades  of  time.  It  shows,  too,  that  this  is  no  decadent 
country,  but  one  worthy  of  our  best  efforts  to  establish  Christian 
institutions  that  will  help  to  make  it  great. 

Amid  the  rugged  hills  of  Baracoa  in  eastern  Cuba,  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  island  by  almost  impassable  roads,  there  are 
twenty-four  Baptist  churches.  Many  of  these  are  small  groups  made 
up  of  the  very  poorest  in  the  land.  They  are  ministered  to  by  six 
itinerant  pastors  supported  by  the  other  Baptist  churches  of  eastern 
Cuba.  Their  ministry  is  truly  of  a  pioneer  character.  As  they  go 
about  on  horseback,  fording  streams  often  swollen  by  torrential 
rains,  receiving  the  hospitality  of  the  country  people  and  holding 
meetings  sometimes  in  the  open  and  sometimes  under  the  shelter  of 
the  thatch-covered  huts,  there  is  accomplished  a  work  of  real  worth 
and  it  is  done  without  American  supervision  or  visitation,  but  under 
the  direction  of  a  Cuban  Home  Mission  Society. 

The  most  encouraging  feature  of  the  evangelical  missions  in 
Cuba  is  their  rapid  progress  in  attaining  self-support.  This  note  of 
standing  upon  their  own  feet  and  not  being  dependent  upon  American 
money  has  awakened  a  responsive  chord  in  Cuban  Christians.  The 
Northern  Baptists  in  eastern  Cuba  report  that  their  budget  for 
salaries,  house-rents,  and  traveling  expenses  of  nineteen  Cuban  pastors 
for  the  year  1923-24  amounts  to  $21,647,  of  which  $9,400  is  con¬ 
tributed  by  the  churches.  This  includes  three  churches  that  pay  the 
entire  salary  of  their  pastors.  In  addition  to  this,  the  Cuban  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society  is  raising  for  the  same  year  a  budget  of 
$4,500  with  which  to  aid  in  the  support  of  eight  pastors  under  their 
own  supervision,  the  six  above  mentioned  in  the  Baracoa  region  and 
two  elsewhere.  In  this  way  they  expect  each  year  to  assume  a  larger 
share  of  the  responsibility  now  borne  by  the  American  Baptist  Home 
Mission  Society  for  Cuba’s  evangelization,  until  eventually  Ameri¬ 
can  mission  funds  will  be  used  only  for  the  support  of  educational 
institutions. 

Certain  important  results  of  mission  work  are  sometimes  over¬ 
looked.  They  are  results  the  significance  of  which  lies  in  the  fact 
that  they  show  the  common  course  of  things.  A  number  of  years 
ago  a  young  man  began  to  come  to  a  mission  Sunday  school  in  Cuba. 
At  that  time  he  was  earning  fairly  good  wages,  but  he  spent  it  in 
ways  that  did  not  bring  him  lasting  good.  He  lived  in  a  palm- 
thatched  shack  with  a  dirt  floor.  He  had  scarcely  any  furniture. 
He  slept  in  a  hammock,  and  wore  cotton  clothes  and  canvas  sandals. 
He  did  not  know  how  to  spend  his  money  profitably. 

27 


Twenty  Years  in  Cuba 


Soon  after  entering  the  Sunday  school  he  joined  the  Young 
People’s  Society  and  later  took  up  special  studies.  With  his  change 
of  heart  his  whole  life  was  changed.  The  Christian  ideals  of  life 
gripped  him  with  compelling  force.  As  his  life  flowed  out  to  others 
there  came  to  him  a  new  appreciation  of  what  is  worth  while  in 
material  things.  The  missionary  found  that  he  had  all  unconsciously 
created  a  new  market  for  American  goods.  The  wages  of  this 
young  man  had  not  materially  increased,  but  he  now  knew  how  to 
use  them  better.  He  now  lives  in  a  neat  frame  cottage  made  of  lum¬ 
ber  shipped  from  Charleston,  S.  C.  His  furniture  was  made  at 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  The  bread  he  has  on  his  table  is  made 
from  flour  shipped  from  Wichita,  Kansas.  His  clothes  were  woven 
in  Massachusetts.  He  wears  shoes  that  were  manufactured  in  St. 
Louis.  He  is  fond  of  music  and  he  plays  a  violin  that  was  pur¬ 
chased  from  a  Chicago  firm. 

Yes,  the  missionary  has — without  intention — created  a  new  market 
for  the  American  farmer,  the  American  manufacturer  and  the  Amer¬ 
ican  merchant.  But  the  missionary  does  not  think  of  that.  He  only 
recognizes  that  into  the  life  of  the  convert  has  come  a  fuller  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  true  value  of  things,  and  he  makes  his  community  richer 
and  nobler  because  his  own  life  is  richer  and  nobler. 

The  results  of  Christian  missions  in  Cuba  are  something  far 
greater  than  can  be  tabulated  in  records  of  churches  established, 
converts  made  or  schools  maintained.  Mission  work  is  after  all  a 
spiritual  enterprise  that  has  to  do  with  the  growth  of  souls.  It 
has  to  do  with  the  power  which  begets  character,  that  inward  urge 
which  moves  men  to  make  the  great  adventures  of  faith.  A  letter 
from  a  young  Cuban  whose  spiritual  life  is  being  released  in  labors 
of  love  says :  “I  am  still  exploring  the  way  of  Calvary.  Pray  for 
me  that  I  may  do  it  in  the  spirit  of  Christ.”  Here  is  a  great  adven¬ 
ture  and  the  basis  of  a  great  fellow.ship  and  the  promise  of  a  new 
life  for  Cuba. 


28 


DATE  DUE 

DEC  1-  ^ 

■) 

' 

GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S  A. 

i  - 


.,'V 'i-'-f 
'  ^  -v--'  ■' 

-  ■  ,  -■ 


Published  by 

The  General  Board  of  Promotion 
OF  THE  Northern  Baptist  Convention 
276  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
for 

The  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society 

23  East  26th  Street,  New  York  City 


712-I-3M-Aug.,  1923 — Fiftesk  Cents 


